What caught our eye - three key stories
Coffee - the gap between cost and farmer income; CBAM - help or harm?; Environmental litigation funding
Here are three stories that we found particularly interesting this week and why. We also give our lateral thought on each one.
If you want to read the rest and are not already a member...
Cooperatives and appellations: addressing the gap between the cost of coffee and farmer income.
World Coffee Magazine, the official publication of the World Coffee Summit and Exhibition London 2023 was published last week and included articles from experts with a variety of disciplines impacting the coffee industry and its value chain.
Steven contributed one of those articles which made it onto the cover page!
'Cooperatives & Appellations: The answer to addressing the gap between the cost of coffee and the income of the farmers' highlights a plight felt by many at the very upstream end of the food and beverage industry.
This is a vast industry that takes agricultural products and turns them into food and beverages. Many of these are commoditised - with limited differentiation. In many other cases the branding value is held by the end retailer or the processor. As a result, the farmer or grower often only sees a small percentage of the final retail price. This can make it difficult for them to raise the capital they need to invest in more sustainable production methods, higher yields, or to improve the quality of their production. Which in turn creates a negative feedback loop.